Champagne Raspberry Granitas Recipes

CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
• Using the finest grater you have, lightly scrape the skin of 1 lemon, removing only the top surface of the peel. Squeeze out the juice and remove the seeds from both lemons.
• Open the Champagne or sparkling wine, and pour it into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch pan. Mix in the simple syrup, lemon juice, and grated zest. Place mixture into the freezer. Check after 30 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, break up any ice formed on the sides and stir into the rest of the liquid. Continue to freeze and repeat this procedure every hour for at least 3 hours. Before serving, fluff the granita by "chopping" up any clumps with the spoon or gently whisking the frozen mixture. Spoon into small glasses or cups and serve.

RASPBERRY CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, mix the water, sugar, and raspberries. Heat on high, mashing the raspberries so that they infuse the syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil, then take it off the heat and strain it into a large heatproof bowl. Chill for 1 hour or until completely cooled.
• Combine the raspberry syrup (all of it) with the bubbly and lemon juice. Transfer to a 9×13″ Pyrex and freeze for 1 hour.
• Stir the slushy granita base with a fork, scraping down the sides and mashing any big clumps of ice. Put the pan back in the freezer, stirring it every 30 minutes.
• Continue stirring and freezing for about 2 hours or until you have what looks like shaved ice. Keep the granita frozen until you are ready to serve

ORANGE CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place a 9 x 13-inch metal baking dish in the freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Combine the orange juice and champagne in a large bowl. Stir the sugar syrup into the orange mixture, and pour the mixture into the chilled pan. Place the pan in the freezer and chill until ice crystals form around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer and stir the mixture with a fork to incorporate the ice crystals. Continue freezing and stirring every 30 minutes until all the liquid is frozen, about 2 hours.

RASPBERRY-CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the raspberries and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth.
• Combine water, sugar and champagne in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer 1 minute or until sugar melts.
• Remove from heat, stir in raspberry puree.
• Pour the mixture into a large, shallow baking dish.
• Cover and freeze 8 hours.
• Remove dish from freezer and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy.

RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Using a large sauce pot, combine the water and sugar. Cook until a syrup forms and all of the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the raspberry puree to the mixture and cool.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow pan and place it in the freezer. As the mixture freezes, occasionally scrape and stir the mixture to form crystals. After a few hours the granita is ready to serve.
• Serve in small glass cups with freshly whipped cream.

CHAMPAGNE-CASSIS GRANITA

Steps:

• In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the Champagne. Stir in the crème de cassis. Freeze according to the instructions for freezing granita on page 145.
• Although Champagne-Cassis Granita is delicious just as it is, a scoop of Raspberry-Champágne Sorbet (page 132) at the bottom of the glass is an elegant touch.

RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Chill syrup until cold.
• Meanwhile, mash 3 cups raspberries in medium bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Mix in sugar syrup. Pour mixture through strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Pour mixture into shallow baking dish. Freeze until almost firm, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.
• Continue freezing granita until firm (do not stir), at least 3 hours or overnight. (Granita can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen.)
• Using fork, scrape surface of granita to form crystals. Scoop crystals into glasses. Garnish with raspberries.